Generally the invention deals with a mictobiologically stable liquid or paste sauce mix. The sauce mix does not have to be pasteurized.
Many products have been developed to assist in cooking meat or other protein. These include both dry mixes and liquid sauces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,300 teaches a method and natural flavoring composition to impart deep-fried flavor without adding fat. The composition is used to coat a product to be cooked.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,376 teaches a sauce for coating foods to give them a brown color and crisp texture when used with a microwave oven.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,124 teaches a dry mix which can be applied to moistened meat pieces. The mix then liquefies to produce a thickened gravy or sauce on cooking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,088 discloses a specially prepared combined starch-natural gum composition. This composition is used as a thickening agent.
The art has not addressed the problem of a combined dry seasoning mix/liquid sauce mix which are designed to be used together and to be complementary to each other. The art usually deals separately with either selected dry mixes or sauces having no functional connection between the seasoning mix and the sauce. This separate treatment limits the convenience of the product and limits the flavor nuances available. In addition, the less heat that is used in processing the products, the less flavor will be affected.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a sauce product which uses minimal or no heat in the process, yet is still microbiologically stable. This has been accomplished with the result that the sauce produces fresh taste on cook up of the end product.
Once the desirability of a two component sauce seasoning mix combination has been recognized, the next problem is how to manufacture it so that it is stable both physically and microbiologically and so that it provides the desired taste. Certain sauces must be liquid or fluid because of the delicacy of the flavors involved. Drying the flavor and seasoning components of the sauce significantly alters their flavor profile and reduces the perception of freshness. In addition, certain, sometimes irreversible, physical changes take place on drying.
Further, the sauce should contain a highly concentrated emulsion which must be easy to dilute on use. The emulsion, which can be a liquid or a paste, must be stable enough for dilution without breaking and further, the diluted emulsion itself must be stable enough to be heated after dilution. In addition, the emulsion must be sufficiently freeze-thaw and heat stable to allow shipment and storing in normal commercial channels.
The emulsion must also be microbiologically stable, which in turn requires a pH of 4.5 or less since the emulsion, to be fluid, will have a water activity of about 0.7 to 0.85. The pH adjustment for microbiological stability in turn could easily render many versions of the sauce too acidic for most tastes, especially dairy based sauces. To remedy this acidity a buffer is usually and preferably added to the seasoning mix to counteract the acidity of the sauce/diluted sauce emulsion. Stability of the emulsion is also important in the stored product because if the emulsion breaks or separates, localized pockets of high water activity may result, which in turn could result in microbiological instability.
It has now been found that an emulsified, acidified sauce mix with extremely high solids content and salt content can be prepared and used with the advantage of good microbiological stability. Of course, the sauce can also be used with selected seasoning mixes in the proper circumstances. If properly processed, the sauce causes a 5 log decrease in organisms during a normal challenge test, thus essentially making pasteurization optional.